Christie’s unveils its new rostrum designed by Sir Jony Ive and the LoveFrom team

This year marks the 260th anniversary of Christie’s, and at the heart of the organisation since its founding on London's King Street in 1766 has been the rostrum. More than a platform, it is the stage for the auctioneer: the seat of theatre, tension and spectacle that defines the experience of a Christie’s auction. To celebrate 260 years of exceptional art and objects, Christie’s approached renowned designer Sir Jony Ive and his creative collective LoveFrom to reimagine this iconic component of the auction room. The result was unveiled on 5 March at Christie’s King Street headquarters in London ahead of the London 20/21 evening sales: a new rostrum that honours the institution’s history and declares its future.

For Ive, the project was a natural meeting of minds. ‘I share many of the beliefs and values that characterize Christie’s… an underlying commitment to excellence, a passion and belief in ingenuity, integrity and the critical importance of beauty.’

The conduit for the collaboration was David Snowdon, Honorary Chairman of Christie’s in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Snowdon, himself deeply passionate about carpentry and founder of the School of Furniture, describes the significance of the rostrum: ‘The rostrum is everything that Christie’s stands for: it’s the theatre; it’s the display; the ambience, the excitement, everything that is on public display in a very personal object. This new rostrum exemplifies who we are for the future.’

Inspiration from Christie’s first rostrum by Thomas Chippendale

Christie’s inaugural rostrum — designed by Thomas Chippendale for founder James Christie in the mid-18th century — was lost in 1941 when a bomb struck Christie’s London headquarters during the Blitz, destroying the building’s interior and leaving only its stone facade standing. Reproductions of the original rostrum have been in use since then.

It was this storied lineage that shaped Ive’s approach. ‘The original Thomas Chippendale design is masterful and remains rather intimidating,’ he says. The encounter set his team on a rigorous path of research and discovery. ‘As a team, we have a robust research discipline. I often think our understanding of the future and our approach to design is absolutely based on how well we understand the past.’

From there, the design evolved to address what the original could not: a rostrum conceived fully in the round, considered from every angle, as suited to the millions of viewers watching Christie’s auction livestreams from around the world as to those seated in the saleroom itself.

The King Street rostrum is the first of five to be revealed over the coming six months across Christie’s global salerooms. Each will take the stage at Christie’s 20th and 21st Century Art sales in Paris in April, New York in May and Hong Kong in September, as well as Geneva Luxury Week in May.

A transatlantic collaboration

LoveFrom, founded by Jony Ive with the designer Marc Newson, is a creative collective of designers based in San Francisco and London. To fabricate the new rostrum, the LoveFrom team connected with specialist furniture maker Benchmark in Berkshire, England. Ive recognised immediately that Benchmark’s were the right hands for the job. ‘We were struck by Benchmark’s biological understanding of trees and the ethical sourcing of the timber we used, as well as the machining and creating of prototypes and the finished product.’ Fortuitously, Benchmark co-founder Sean Sutcliffe had an existing connection to Christie’s Snowdon stretching back many years.

During the design and development of the rostrum, the LoveFrom team spent time at Benchmark’s workshop in the south of England, and the Benchmark team visited San Francisco — a transatlantic exchange that built both a shared shorthand and a deep mutual trust between Ive, Snowdon, and the Benchmark team.

‘For the LoveFrom team and myself, the joy of the collaboration with Christie’s, and the sense of the institution with such a glorious biography, has been extraordinary,’ says Ive. ‘We have designed a modest object that celebrates craft and material. The rostrum’s purpose is to elevate the auctioneer and, as a stage, it proudly carries the Christie’s mark.’

Design in the detail

The rostrum does not loom over its audience but sits, as Ive puts it, ‘politely higher’ — a considered presence rather than an imposing one. It’s a permanent structure, not a temporary fixture. Practical challenges were solved with the same rigour as aesthetic ones: the stairs, for instance, deploy from the inside with a touch mechanism, opening silently onto the floor.

‘When you design something, you manifest what you care about,’ says Ive. ‘And that object really testifies to who you are and your values. There is something very powerful when you have an object that is egalitarian and inclusive while declaring attention to detail and standing for excellence.’ He describes the care and consideration that has gone into every aspect of the research and making of the rostrum — and behind that care, he says, is ‘the belief that other people matter’.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the placement of the Christie’s wordmark. In addition to appearing on the front of the rostrum, it is present on a metal plate at the base of the door on the reverse — visible to the auctioneer and the art handlers as they enter. ‘The Christie’s wordmark is so powerful and communicates so much that you're not even fully aware of in that moment. We placed it on the back of the rostrum for the benefit of the art handlers and the auctioneer. As you open the door, it signals a significant moment.’ It’s a quiet acknowledgement of a tradition that runs deep: over the years, some art handlers have become auctioneers themselves.

The closing mechanism on the door to the interior of the rostrum, and unseen by the room, was designed with a series of stainless steel components — each one deliberate, says Ive. The contrast between steel and oak presented its own challenge: ‘So much design fails at the junction, at the composite of materials with such different properties. The way two different materials connect can often feel uncomfortable. We had to work hard for some of the very visible elements — such as the latch on the door — not to be conspicuous, which is not the same as hiding it. For it to appear obvious and inevitable. And that sense of inevitability is really hard to create.’

Even the acoustics were considered: end grain oak, chosen for its hardness, shapes the tone when the hammer-like gavel strikes as a lot is won. The gavel itself is made of end grain for the same reason.

‘Steve Jobs spoke about the great cabinet makers caring enough to finish the back of the drawer,’ says Ive, who was Jobs creative partner and designed many of Apple's most iconic products, including the iMac, iPod and iPhone. ‘It's the right thing to do and it speaks to your commitment to excellence.’

Form meets function

Both Snowdon and Ive agree that truly functional objects possess a particular kind of beauty. Ive relished the practical demands the project placed on his team. ‘I love the wonderfully pragmatic challenges: this object needs to be moved, stored, deployed. And I enjoy the very practical considerations, such as a ladder needed to get into the rostrum, and the different heights of the auctioneers. Then you have an object type that I've never been engaged with. It’s so idiosyncratic — it’s the flag at the front of the room, it’s the ceremony — this fabulous process that is so singular and so special.’

Sustainably sourced

The hand-made oak rostrum is crafted from sustainably sourced oak over 200 years old, known for its strength and durability providing longevity. It can be traced to specific French forests that supplied the timber for the restoration of Notre Dame. ‘It’s a beautiful thing that you can take a modest material — such as oak — and that with the expertise of the design and craftspeople involved, value is added in the process. I find that magical,’ says Ive.

The auctioneer’s stage

Every auctioneer brings their own presence and expression to the rostrum — some lean back against the door; others rise over the front of the platform. It is a space that both contains and releases them.

‘The auctioneers approach the rostrum with some sense of trepidation,’ explains Snowdon. ‘They have the bid book. They’ve got their microphone, which is probably a bit uncomfortable, and entering the rostrum takes them into their realm where everything has a beautiful feel to it. The way they stand is almost like an orator, as if in a pulpit.’

Ive sees something else in it too: ‘The rostrum is a monument to a precious and important institution, but it’s also a playground in a way.’

A legacy for years to come

Since 1766, the Christie’s rostrum has been witness to countless astonishing moments. The new rostrum carries the past inside it and points towards what’s ahead. ‘Over time, marks will start to appear of the human hand on the rail, and that is history,' says Snowdon.

Ive is equally reflective about what the project leaves behind. ‘At the end of our project, there will be two things: there will be the rostrum, and there will be all that we’ve learnt.’